Editorial: Return cameras to N.Y. courtrooms

Wednesday

The benefits of allowing cameras in courtrooms were on full display locally almost exactly one year ago.

The benefits of allowing cameras in courtrooms were on full display locally almost exactly one year ago.

Ontario County Court Judge William Kocher allowed cameras to record the Jan. 23, 2008, resentencing of Walter Casper III for killing his wife by sending the family minivan over a cliff in Naples. An appellate court had reduced his murder conviction to manslaughter and his mandatory sentence was being reduced.

The emotion clearly visible on the face of Casper’s younger son as his older brother spoke at the hearing would have taken more than the proverbial thousand words to describe.

Allowing a photographer to be present to document the proceedings allowed the media to more fully convey the impact of the day’s events. They were more personal, more tragic, more complete.

The photographer was not intrusive, but the message came through loud and clear.

Unfortunately, Jan. 23, 2008, was an exception.

New York state allowed news cameras in courtrooms for nearly 10 years, until the law authorizing it expired in June 1997. Now, New York is one of just seven states that do not allow such coverage.

Which is why Gov. David Paterson’s nomination this month of Jonathan Lippman to succeed retiring Judith Kaye as chief judge at the Court of Appeals and the head of the state court system is good news. Lippman favors returning cameras to the state’s courtrooms.

“I think it’s important for that information to go out to the public,” said Lippman, 63. “It does require legislative action to make that a reality.”

There’s the rub.

The state Legislature could change the law and allow the people to be present in the courts by photographic proxy, but it hasn’t seemed inclined to do so. In fact, our faith in the Legislature’s ability to address this or any issue promptly and definitively has been sorely tested. So we hope Lippman — should he be confirmed by the state Senate — can nudge lawmakers in the right direction.

News organizations and open-government types are obvious supporters of opening courtroom proceedings to photographers. But anyone who is interested in being fully informed about jurisprudence, courtroom fairness and how their tax dollars are used should likewise urge their legislators to endorse the measure. It is, quite simply, a move that would help the public better understand what goes on in court.

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